Bottle carrier



l. L. RABB BOTTLE CARRIER Jan. 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26,1964 B 73 B V Y 0 0 R A E m wt v n .4 W m om m L #9 m H G @N W m M no 9N m w! 7 B O pal-Dam em 2 9m wm mm mm I. L. RABB BOTTLE CARRIER Jan. 17,1967 Filed Feb. 26, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- h r INVENTOR IRVING L. RABB fBY 1 l.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,298,563 BOTTLE CARRIER Irving L. Rabb, 250Chestnut Hill Road, Norwalk, Conn. 06851 Filed Feb. 26, 1964, Ser. No.347,403 4 Claims. (Cl. 220-410) This invention relates tocontainer-carrier devices, and more particularly to containers forcarrying a group of articles such as bottles of soda.

Many items to be found on the shelves of retail stores are packedtogether in groups, e.g., in six-packs. These containers are provided toenable a purchaser to conveniently carry away the goods. Such containersare especially useful for carrying soda bottles or similar products. Thecontainers are also used to carry the empties back to the store in theevent the bottles are returnable. In such cases, the bottles, in thecontainer, are returned 'by the retailer to the bottler for refilling.The same container is used again for the refilled bottles. Presentdaycontainers, however, have a relatively short life, an average of onlyabout three uses, due to their inherent destructi-bility.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a more durable,longer-lasting container.

-It is another object of this invention to provide a container for morerigidly and simply securing the enclosed bottles, cans, etc. than hasbeen the practice in the prior art.

It is another object of this invention to provide a container, which incombination with the enclosed bottles, will allow a group of filledcontainers to be rigidly stacked whereby the possibility of a pile ofsix-packs or similar containers being toppled over is minimized.

It is another object of this invention to provide a container which,while rigid when enclosing bottles, is capable 'of being folded whenempty for occupying less space.

It is still another object of this invention, in one embodiment thereof,to provide a container with a removable carrier portion for the purposeof achieving a minimum bulk when the container is folded.

In accordance with the principles of my invention the container isformed from an integral unit of plastic material, such as polyethyleneor polypropylene, prepared by injection molding technique. Fold lines inthe material allow it to be bent easily into the desired containerconfiguration. In one embodiment of the invention complementary snapfasteners are formed in the plastic during the molding thereof forenabling the plastic to provide a rigid container-carrier shape. Inanother embodiment of the invention a separate carrier portion isprovided which, when attached to the container, forms a rigidcontainer-carrier combination.

The base portion of the container, in the first illustrative embodimentof the invention, is provided with peripheral sidewalls which completelyencircle it. These sidewalls are high enough to completely secure theenclosed bottles. The base and sidewalls comp-rise a semi-rigid pan, aresult of the molding or forming process, which provide a heretoforeunobtainable sturdy bottom for the container.

The base portion of the container of the invention need not be flat asare those in the prior art. A multiplicity of ridges support a group ofannular rings or squares, all being an integral unit of plasticmaterial. The number of rings is equal to the number of bottles forwhich the container is designed to carry, e.g., six for a siX-pack. Therings have upwardly offset port-ions with apertures in the centersthereof. The bottles rest on these apertures. Thus looking at thecontainer from below, it has the appearance of a flat ridged surfacewith six circular indentations. The diameters of these indentations are'ice such each indentation is adapted to receive the top of a bottle ina container directly below. Thus each container fits securely on thebottles in the container directly below, and a group of containers maybe rigidly stacked, e.g., on the shelves of a store, with little chanceof them all being toppled over by a customer inadvertently brushingagainst them.

It is a feature of this invention to form a container from an integralunit of plastic material prepared by injection molding, vacuum forming,or other molding, forming or fabricating technique, and having foldlines thereon for enabling the plastic to be easily bent into either acontainer shape or a less bulky configuration when not in use.

It is another feature of this invention, in one embodiment thereof toprovide complementary snap fasteners in the plastic material to secureits ends and thereby provide a semi-rigid container shape.

It is another feature of this invention, in another embodiment thereof,to provide a separate carrier portion, attached to the container,whereby the container is capable of being folded into a minimally bulkyshape when not in use.

It is still another feature of this invention to provide a number ofindentations in the base portion of the container, equal in number tothe number of bottles enclosed by the container and arranged in apattern similar to that of the bottles, for allowing the tops of thebottles in a similar container below 'it to fit into the indentations.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent after consideration of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one illustrative embodiment of the invention inits unfolded or molded condition;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the left end portionthereof in enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is an end View of the container of FIG. 1 in assembled condition,with a phantom showing of the bottles contained both within it andwithin the container immediately beneath it in the same vertical stack;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the container of FIG. 1 in assembled condition;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention comprisingseparate container and carrier parts;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the container part of FIG. 6; (FIG. 8 is an endview of the container part of FIG. 6; an

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carrier part of FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIG. 1 in detail, it is seen that the container 10 isformed from one integral unit of molded plastic material. As alreadyindicated, while injection molding is presently preferred, othermolding, forming or fabricating techniques may be employed to makecontainer 10 without departing from the invention. The base 11 includesa peripherally continuous side wall 12 and a multiplicity of ridgesISwhich extend in from the bottom of the sidewall 12 to the annular rings16. To divide the base into compartments for holding bottles againstinternal movement, base 11 is provided with a longitudinal partition 74and two transverse partitions 76 and 78. Sidewall 12 may be seen morefully in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. In FIG. 2 it is seen that the upwardly offsetportions 17 connect rings 16 to circular sections 18. In FIG. 4 bottles33 are shown as being supported by these sections. Members 14 in FIGS. 1and 5, horizontal extensions from the tops of the two end sidewalls,serve to stiffen the base 11 and to absorb shocks administered to theends of the container to prevent breakage of bottles 33.

Sides 19, connected to the tops of thetwolonger portions of peripheralsidewall 12 of base 11 are folded up to form the sides of the container.Sides 19 are vertical when the plastic is in its container shape.Sections 20, each containingthree apertures 21, hexagonal inconfiguration in the illustrative embodiments of the invention, are thenbent inward at an angle as shown in FIG. 4. The necks of the bottlespass through the apertures 21. Sections 22 and 25 are then bent'intoavertical position. Securing means, here shown as complementary snaps 23and 24, formed during the molding process, allow section-s 22 and 25 tobe secured to each other, as seen in FIG. 4. Aperture 26 is cut out ofsection 25 to allow the fingers of a human carrier to grip thecontainer. The elongated head 27 is provided for the comfort of theconsumer.

The magnified view of FIG. 3 shows in detail the mannerin which theplastic material is shaped for allowing the effortless bending of thesemi-rigid plastic into the container shape. Wherever a fold isrequired, a groove or fold line is provided. The fold lines are definedby thinned out sections of plastic to permit hinging action. The groovesare preferably formed on that side of the plastic away from which thefold is made. However they may be provided on the opposite side or onboth sides. For example, in FIG. 3, section 19 is bent in a clockwisedirection, and it is seen that fold line 30 permits this bending to beeasily effected. Section 20 is similarly bent in a clockwise direction,and fold line 31 is formed as is fold line 30. Section 22, on the otherhand, is bent in the counter-clockwise direction, and fold line 32 isaccordingly formed on the opposite side the plastic material.

FIGS. 2 and 4 show how the containers of the invention, when holdingbottles, may be securely stacked one upon the other. Bottles 34, in alower container, fit into respective indentations in the base 11 of anupper container formed by the upwardly offset portions 17. The weight ofthe upper bottle-filled containers insures that a rigid stack isobtained.

The second illustrative embodiment of the invention, shown in FIGS. 6-9,comprises two distinct parts, a carrier or handle portion 41 and acontainer portion 40. The two portions are shown assembled together inFIG. 6, the container being shown alone in FIGS. 7 and 8, and thecarrier being shown alone in FIG. 9.

The container 40 has-a base section 42 similar to that in the firstillustrative embodiment ofthe invention. The only difference is theaddition of a longitudinal central fold line 44, to be explained below.Above the base section the container has two sides 46 of T shape,interconnected at their upper outer extremities by two end sections 48.These end sections are provided to connect the T-shaped sides to oneanother and to allow the handle 41to engage the container. The top ofthe container is also provided with two partitions 50 to secure theenclosed bottles.

The two partitions 50 contain respective vertical fold lines 52 and 54.The two ends 48 of the container contain respective vertical fold lines56 and 58. These four fold lines, together with fold line .44, in thebase section 42, allow the container 40 to be folded flat when not inuse. The base folds downward as shown by dotted line in FIG. 8. The twovertical end sections fold outward, as to partitions 50. (It is alsopossible to mold fold lines 56 and 58 on the in side of the endsections, whereby allowing the end sections to fold inward to achieve aneven lesser bulk in the unused condition.) The container section 40 isdetachable from the handle 41 and the container can thus be folded flat.

The handle is preferably made of a relatively rigid yet elasticallydeformable material such as metal or plastic, for example, phenolformaldehyde plastic, vinyl plastic, or polyolefin plastic. The handle41 has a horizontal carrying portion 60 and two vertical legs 62 andareas of connection with the handle portion.41.

To eifectthe connection betweenthe handle and the container, the legs 62and 64 are flexed outwardly and the handle is then brought intooverlying relation with the container portion and moved downwardly sothat the ,tops .of the hooks v70 and 72 clear the bottoms of thesides.48. At this point the handle legs 62and 64 may ,be released tocause them to move into surface engaging relation with the ends 48 ofthe container. Thereafter, the

handle may be moved upwardly to cause the hooks to movearound the ends48 as may be seen in FIG. 6 and to cause the abutments 66 and 68 to moveinto underlying supporting relation with the base portion 42. In thismannerthe handle may be detachably connected to the container. It willbe obvious that a reversal of these steps will effect a detachment ofthe handle from the container.

As previously indicated it is preferredthat the containers hereinbeforedescribed be made of a plastic material such as, for example,polyethylene or polypropylene. Such materials are inexpensive and havesuflicient rigidity in practical cross-sections to withstand excessivedeformation in the present application as a bottle carrier.

However, it will be recognized that the container portions cannot beabsolutely rigid in the sense that a metal rod is rigid. The plasticmaterial must have some degree of flexibility and still be sufficientlyrigid to serve the present function. Such flexible materials, such asthe suggested materials polyethylene and polypropylene, as well aspolyvinyl chloride and other vinyl resins, are herein referred to assemi rigid. These semi-rigid materials have sufiicient strength to serveas a container yet sufficient flexibilityto give the hinge actionnecessary at the fold lines. Thus a semi-rigid material may be definedas a flexible material having sufiicient strength and stiltness toretain its shape under no load conditions.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure hasbeen made only by way of example, ,and that numerous changes andmodifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of theinvention.

What I claim is:

1. A container-carrier comprising a container section and ahandlesection; .said container section having a base, two side sectionsconnected to saidbase and being wider at the-top than at the bottomthereof, and two end sections connecting said side sections at the topsthereof; said handle section having a horizontal portion connected ateither end to one of two vertical supporting members, each of saidsupporting members having a first projecting surface for engaging one ofsaid container end sections, and a second projecting surface for bearingsaid container base.

2. A container-carrier in accordance with claim 1 wherein said containerbase includes a plurality of raised portions interconnected by aplurality of ridges.

3. A container-carrier in accordance with claim 1 .wherein saidcontainer includes a plurality of partitions interconnecting said twoside sections, said partitions and said end sections each having a foldline parallel to said side sections, and said base having a fold line inthe plane formed by said partition and end section fold lines.

4; A container-carrier in accordance with claim 1 wherein said two endsections include median fold lines 5 v 6 parallel to said sides, andsaid base includes a median 3,004,657 10/1961 Hyman 220--104 X fold linein the plane formed by said end section fold 3,039,651 6/1962 Lang220110 lines. 3,045,863 7/1962 De Chelbor 220102 References Cited by theExaminer 3,055,542 9/ 1962 Russo 220104 U D AT PATENTS 3,114,472 12/1963RUSSO 220104 R 5 7 c 220 102 5 3,115,266 12/1963 Poupitch 220102 e e3,178,052 4 1965 B l 220102 2,365,914 12/1944 *Stigler 220107 mm W2,804,234 8/ 1957 Lacha-nce 220116 GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

1. A CONTAINER-CARRIER COMPRISING A CONTAINER SECTION AND A HANDLESECTION; SAID CONTAINER SECTION HAVING A BASE, TWO SIDE SECTIONSCONNECTED TO SAID BASE AND BEING WIDER AT THE TOP THAN AT THE BOTTOMTHEREOF, AND TWO END SECTIONS CONNECTING SAID SIDE SECTIONS AT THE TOPSTHEREOF; SAID HANDLE SECTION HAVING A HORIZONTAL PORTION CONNECTED ATEITHER END TO ONE OF TWO VERTICAL SUPPORTING MEMBERS, EACH OF SAIDSUPPORTING MEMBERS HAVING A FIRST PROJECTING SURFACE FOR ENGAGING ONE OFSAID CONTAINER END SECTIONS, AND A SECOND PROJECTING SURFACE FOR BEARINGSAID CONTAINER BASE.